One third of Russians believe tasks set by Putin in his address can soon be fulfilled

MOSCOW, December 23. /ITAR-TASS/. One third of Russians believe that the tasks set by President Putin in his annual address to the Russian Federal Assembly on December 12 will be fulfilled in the near future as revealed by a public opinion poll carried out by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTSIOM), which published the results on Monday.

According to the poll, every third Russian who heard or read Putin’s address is sure that the assigned tasks are realistic and can be implemented in the next few years.

In general, “almost one third of Russians showed an interest in the presidential address to the Federal Assembly. Nine percent of the respondents said they had watched Putin’s speech. Twenty percent said they had learnt about its key themes from news programs,” VTSIOM went on to say.

The most popular themes included measures to liquidate offshore zones - seven percent; the development of the Siberia and the Far East - five percent and the army reform - five percent. Only two percent of respondents showed interest in inter-ethnic relations and one percent in amendments to the Russian Constitution.

The VTSIOM poll was carried out on December 14-15, 2013. A total of 1,600 people in 130 populated localities in 42 regions and territories of Russia took part in the survey. The statistical error does not exceed 3.4 percent.